‘We knew…’ – Luke Ayling admits Leeds disruption was ‘hard one to take’
Luke Ayling has admitted it was a “hard one to take” for Leeds United with the absence of Liam Cooper against Wolves.
The Whites skipper was initially named in the starting XI for the 1-0 defeat but was omitted after a recurrence of his groin injury.
Pascal Struijk was brought into the side, but Ayling claimed that the Dutch youngster had been training in that role all week.
Ayling claimed that Cooper was “touch and go” but that it still disrupted the side in their immediate build-up at Elland Road.
“We knew that he was touch and go for the game,” he told LUTV.
“He worked really hard to even have a chance of playing and maybe it’s come around a bit too quickly, but Pascal’s trained in there all week.
“He knew he was going to have a chance of playing, so he came in and played very well. It was a bit of a hard one to take.”
It got even worst for Leeds on Tuesday, with Kalvin Phillips also being ruled out for up to six weeks of action.
The 24-year-old suffered a shoulder injury against Wolves and adds to the defensive headache facing Marcelo Bielsa for the Aston Villa game.
Struijk would usually jump into midfield, but should both Cooper and Llorente remain out, there will be a huge hole being left by those three missing out.
In other Leeds United news, many Whites fans react to Raphinha cameo v Wolves
Be sure to follow MOT Leeds News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on the Whites and more exclusive content with Paul Robinson.